Zoombinis Logical Journey

Other products by The Learning Company

Product Features

• Designed for Windows XP

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B00005LBVU
• Item model number: 380933
• Date first available at Amazon.com: October 2, 2001
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (135 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #57 in Software (See Bestsellers in Software)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #1 in	Software > Children's Software > Age Ranges > 8-11 Years
  #1 in	Software > Children's Software > Age Ranges > 12 Years & Up
  #1 in	Software > Children's Software > Thinking & Problem Solving

• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

"Not too long ago, Zoombinis enjoyed the good life. Though they all looked slightly different--different eyes, noses, hair, feet--such differences meant nothing to the Zoombinis. And so they lived happily on Zoombini Isle, making small, useful products, which were prized the world over." So begins an unsuspectingly addictive CD-ROM, featuring uncommonly fun reasoning games that require serious problem solving and math-thinking work. Yet the perils that face this cheerful society are not as fearsome as the amount of time you'll potentially spend on this pursuit. Beware the chubby, chattering Zoombinis if you don't want to get hooked to your computer for at least 90 minutes a session!

Adored by educators and parents alike, Zoombinis Logical Journey challenges children to employ such basic fundamentals of mathematical thinking as organizing information, reasoning of evidence, finding and making patterns, and systematic testing of hypotheses. The journey follows four puzzle-filled trails, each exploring related mathematical ideas. The fundamental data and variables for all this work are the variations in the Zoombinis' features. Their "feet," for example, can be shoes, skates, whirligigs, or coiled springs (the sound effects for these items are particularly great), while their "eyes" may be heavily lidded, enhanced by eyeglasses, blocked by dark shades, or limited to just a single eyeball. Sorting and arranging these variables in order to solve puzzles requires concentrated effort from the players, and the game rewards them well with inventive scenarios that evolve in fabulously curious ways as skills are gained. This may not sound like much, but when Arno the Pizza-Eating Tree Troll, who has been yammering for the perfectly topped pizza his entire lifetime, suddenly demands a perfectly topped ice cream sundae, too, it is a staggering, giddy surprise.

The product is full of so many little joys, it's hard to demand improvements. Still, it'd be a great thing if version 2 would feature something other than the monotonous, ping-ping-ping soundtrack that's featured here. But that's minor. In the end, the creators' promise that this CD-ROM will "encourage kids to develop a lifetime habit of associating fun with learning" is dead-on. (Ages 9 and older) --Jean Lenihan

Product Description

Travel to a remarkable new world and treat your brain to an outlandishly fun and challenging adventure. Diabolical Bloats have seized Zoombini Isle, and it will take a clever mind to help the Zoombinis navigate their way to safety. Standing between you and your destination are twelve perilous puzzles, with four levels of difficulty each. But beware, this is no ordinary challenge. Zoombinis' captivating gameplay features math without numbers. Solving Zoombinis puzzles uses the process of mathematical thinking. This process includes organizing information, reasoning with evidence, and testing systematically. Dive into the exciting and wacky world of the Zoombinis and develop information-age logic skills used in writing computer programs, organizing spreadsheet data, and searching for information on computer networks.

See all Product Description

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

692 of 699 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding Product for almost any age, June 11, 2003

By	Pooh Guy (Redmond, WA) - See all my reviews

I taught "information design" at a major University for over 10 years, which means I teach others how to teach or instruct in various media. Before this, I spent 16 years designing computer software interfaces, web sites, and instructional material, including dozens of national and international awards for my work. As such, I am keenly aware of both the theoretical and practical issues and difficulties in designing instructional games for children.

The best-known, most-respected, and most-successful educators tell us that education for children (and for adults, for that matter) is most effective when it is fun, when it involves guided self-discovery, when it transparently and automatically adjusts the level of difficulty to match the learner's skills, and when it gives immediate feedback, especially when the emphasis is on positive feedback to the extent possible. Zoombinis excells in all of these areas.

My 9-year-old son has become engrossed by the game, and now spends time helping his 6-year-old sister. They LOVE the silly aspects of the Zoombinis ("hip, hip, zoombini!!!"), and are completely unaware that they are learning some rather complex logic and mathematical concepts. I was amazed when I overheard my son explaining to his sister how to solve the logic puzzles.

I tried playing it myself, and found that the animation and characters are not annoying, cloy, or childish, but possess just the right amount of levity to keep it interesting. I've found that after just a few hours of playing it, my son is already faster than me at figuring out the puzzles. He is now doing it at an intuitive level, while I still have to think it through step-by-step.

Unlike other software, which usually follows a fairly simplistic, linear algorithm that is easily defeated by simple trial-and-error (click everything until it works, then memorize the right pattern), the Zoombini puzzles/problems require the learner to internalize generalizable, transferable problem-solving methods.

Sorry if this sounds like mumbo-jumbo. The bottom line is that this is an outstanding educational product that teaches remarkably complex thinking skills to children while seeming to be nothing more than a really fun computer game. Buy it! You'll be happy you did.

92 of 92 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This lost a star for the difficulty of the higher levels., December 4, 2001

By	FH7 (Harrison, NY USA) - See all my reviews

My younger sisters and I have been homeschooled for years, and our math teacher makes a point of bringing math computer programs for us to play durig the week. She brought us "Logical Journey of the Zoombinis" a few years ago, and we all became hooked. Even my older sister gave it a try. Once we figured out how to solve the puzzles, we had so much fun. Then we lost the CD and couldn't find it anywhere.

A few months ago, we saw this on amazon.com and were delighted! Of course we ordered another copy. Being older (14 1/2, 12, and 10 1/2) we had learned more math and were able to get to the higher levels. That's where we started having problems with it.

The levels go from extremely easy to ridiculously difficult in so little time. It would be better if they spent more time on each level and worked your way up gradually, or if they didn't even get to levels that are so difficult. Not one of us (including my oldest sister, now 17) has won Zoombinis. This isn't even because we haven't figured out how to solve the highest levels, because we have. It's because of another problem with the game. You have to get way too many Zoombinis to Zoombiniville (over 500, I think). Each trip, which can take about forty-five minutes, transports only sixteen Zoombinis. After maybe ten max trips, you're on the highest level. That's pretty hard, and you get bored with doing the same things over and over. As it is, none of us have gotten very many past 200 to Zoombiniville. We simply get bored.

Plus, it says that the age range is 8 and up. Don't let this fool you. A very intelligent 8-year-old would probably be able to figure out the level-one and level-two puzzles, but not many puzzles on higher levels.

My final verdict is: Great game, lots of fun, but gets too hard too easily and would take too long to actually win.

195 of 202 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 5 stars is not enough for Zoombinis! The best game ever!!!!!, August 26, 2002

By A Customer

I cannot believe I am so in love with a computer game. My brother started playing it when he was 2 years old, and now his best skill is logic and mathematics -thanks to Logical Journey of the Zoombinis. This game is seriously a challenge for everyone that plays it. Even my mom, who is a very busy 37 year old full time educator, makes time to play this game (she says it makes her relax). We even take it to summer holidays to play it! Me -I am 16 years old- and my 18 year old sister also never get enough of Logical Journey. And I have been playing it for 6 years!
First you choose 16 of these creatures called Zoombinis, and you are supposed to take them out of their island so they can be free. Of course, on the way to their new home, there are several tests to go through. Each single game is excellent, and each one of them demands logic and brain use while you have fun. You enjoy so much this game that you don't know how much time passed and you keep playing it for hours.
It is not easy to finish the game: it takes a lot of time -and a lot of Zoombinis- to finally get them all to their new home and through each game. This is one of the best parts of the game.
Because of the creativity displayed inside this game, the smartness the creators had to make it real, the challenge well put for people of every single age.... I take off my hat (although I don't have one on :-) and my applauses go to the people who created this game.
Whoever they are, thanks a lot. God bless you and to all the readers, enjoy Logical Journey of the Zoombinis!
PS: I also recommend Zoombinis Mountain Rescue.